Keypads of various kinds are an increasingly ubiquitous necessity. While virtual keypads have increased in number, the importance of physical keypads as an available or even a preferred user-interface modality continues unabated as well.
Physical keypads come in a wide variety of sizes, ranging from full-sized typewriter-styled keyboards to small QWERTY keyboards found on some so-called smartphones. Small keyboards can present numerous design challenges including helping to intrinsically assure that only desired keys are actuated without also inadvertently actuating adjacent keys. Frets are sometimes employed to space rows and/or columns of keys apart from one another in a visually aesthetically-pleasing manner.
Frets are often metallic in appearance but in fact typically comprise plastic having a metallic-looking coating disposed thereon. Plastic materials are well suited to available manufacturing techniques. That said, plastic materials (and their metallic-looking coatings) may not adequately address all application setting needs.